In understanding life aboard our beautiful old timber boat, I thought a 'brief' description of some of the equipment onboard may help.

Built in 1939 by Harry Newton-Scotte on the banks of Yowie Bay, Sydney, she was remarkably deficient of any modern day conveniences seen on boats today. She was in fact deficient of everything! A total wreck of a boat which we considered to be 1 week short of becoming a bonfire!

We started by rebuilding the yacht to a live able standard with basic navigation and domestic requirements. Speed, depth and wind sensors, pressure hot/cold water, shower, fridge and basic sails.

Over the years (26) we have owned the Gull, we have added electric anchor winch, winches for sail handling and covers for sails, cockpit and even a inflatable dinghy! Even installed I a real standup shower!

Over more recent times, we added such "essential" items such as microwave oven, bread maker, coffee maker, outboard motor, spinnaker and storm sails. Upgrades in navigation and communication equipment continued, to include VHF, and HF radios as well as AIS and radar.

The most recent upgrade provided the biggest change when we added a diesel powered generator which allowed us to run even more electrical "must haves" such as 40" flat screen TV, DVD, sound surround, and most importantly, a watermaker/desalination. This obviously lead to an automatic washing machine and air conditioner! Further advances in nav technology saw the installation of new GPS based chart plotters and autopilots.

How old Harry turn in his grave! Some may see this as sacrilidge to fit all this kit to a vintage classic yacht, but we have gone to extreme lengths to ensure that all these "toys" are discretely hidden from view, by enclosing behind teak louvred shutters, or below bunks etc. there is nothing "in your face" showing of anything not 'Classic Yacht'. I have attached a photo of the latest helper, the Daewoo auto washing machine. It hides in the aft cabin behind closed doors!

All this means that we are largely self sufficient and can stay out of marinas etc for extended periods. The washer impacted most on this aspect, as before it's installation frequent stops were required for laundromat visits which was a real pain. Added to this the need to carry additional clothes and/or carry piles of dirty smelly rags around for days/weeks. Yuk! Now a quick clothes wash every other day sees this issue managed far more efficiently with the "admiral" much happier. Happy wife, happy life!

So now we are only limited by the amount of fresh food and beverages we can fit onboard which mostly is in the order of about two weeks. Our wine and beer cache fills most unused corners and the challenge is to find that special bottle we know is onboard somewhere. Eventually that slippery little sucker is found and enjoyed.

Hope this helps? No bragging rights sought or needed. But life afloat requires some compromises, which we have tried to minimize by fitting the toys we feel we can use and enjoy. Not everyone's cup of tea I understand, but it works for us.

Bon voyage!

Left Coffs Harbour after an early breakfast to take advantage of the benign weather preceding a forecast strong wind warning of 30+ knots. This trip of 165nm will see us arrive in Port Stephens early in the morning.

A dream run ensures our plans were valid and we anchor in a magical bay named Fame Cove, which some claim to be the best anchorage in the country. Pretty it is, and well protected, but....oh how we miss the Whitsundays!

Being so close to a major population base (Sydney) the remarkable fact is we share it with no one! Luck on our side, but anticipate this to change by the weekend.

Finally we are able to continue our Southern trek. An early departure from Yamba required the bar crossing at low water, which saw a couple of big sets of waves stand up in front of us but did not break. So onward and southward we went assisted again by another southerly current only this time 1.5 kts which again made for an armchair ride. Now moored inside the Coffs Marina and enjoying a well earned beer.

More strong Northerly winds forecast for the next 3 days, so another layover required. We will make the most of that and soak up some of this towns traditional welcoming hospitality.

Attached; sailing easy with cockpit reflections. Just magic!

Sail from GC Seaway to Yamba was a sleigh ride when the afternoon seabreeze kicked in to 25+ knots! further aided by a 2.5 knot following current. Arrived Yamba well after dark (not recommended) to a maze of lights which totally disorientated skipper and crew. New Raymarine instrumentation provided leads required and finally dropped anchor around 10pm.

Spent next two days enjoying the company of our good friends Danni and Al, before a late afternoon phone call from brother to advise Mum had passed away.

Extended layover at Yamba now required until all formalities are undertaken.

Hello friends,

I was not intending to write a blog for our trek to the Australian Wooden Boat Festival, in Hobart, but after receiving many requests from friends and family to do so, have finally opted to give it a go. Hope you like it, and as always, any comments always welcome.

After what seemed as though we were never going to get to the end of the ever growing jobs list to allow us to set sail for Hobart, we are finally underway. Well almost, as day one has seen two issues slow our progress - a strong 25 to 30 knot trade wind from the south, along most of the Oz east coast, and a mechanical problem with the genset.

The wind is forecast to blow for the next 2 days so our exit from the Gold Coast Broadwater will be dictated by that scenario. The genset will not run continuously due to a fuel leak in the primary filter. A new filter assembly was purchased and fitted but a key o-ring seal was not fitted (nor supplied) so back to the parts shop we go and get another seal. Hopefully this ends this problem, which is a no-go piece of kit, as it not only charges the batteries, runs the fridge, heats the water but also powers the watermaker/desalinator.

Our first stop will most likely be Coffs Harbour as the forecast shows an excellent Northerly weather window for around 4 days so we will try to maximise from this opportunity.

In the meantime, we relax and enjoy being back on-board again after a long time ashore. Sadly, Bella opted out of this first leg but will rejoin us in Sydney.

Cheers for now.